Draft-gear yoke



1,504,432 R. J. COOK I DRAFT GEAR YOKE Aug. 12 1924.

Filed Feb. 13. 1920 lTLY/e n for: 1595/ J U007 z/ Patented Aug. 12, 1924.

.. UNITED STATES 1,504,432 PATENT OFFICE.

ROY J. coon, or onrceeo, ILLINOFIS, Assrenon T KEYOKE nAILwAY'nQuni/[ENT COMPANY, or CHICAGO, rumors, A oo'aronn'rron or ILLINOIS.

DRAFT-GEAR YOKE.

Application filed February 13, 1920. Serial No. 358,443.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, ROY J. CooK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new andnseful Improvements in Draft-Gear Yokes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a yoke for the draft gear of railway cars and its purpose is to provide improved means for maintaining the coupler butt in the forward end of the yoke. The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved form of yoke comprising a removable block insertable into the forward end of the yoke from the rear part thereof for maintaining the coupler butt in theyoke. A further object is to provide a yoke constructed to permit the adaptation of a coupler butt having a relatively small vertical dimension 'to a draft gear having a comparatively large vertical dimension. A further object is to provide a yoke and a coupler butt having relative longitudinal movement in combination with a removable block insertable into the hooded end of the yoke from the rear thereof upon rearward displacement of the coupler butt, the block being adapted to support the coupler by engagement therewith forwardly of the coupler butt. Still another feature of the invention is the provision of a removable block adapted to be inserted into the forward end of a hooded yoke to engage the lower shoulder of a shouldered coupler butt. Other objects .re-' late to various features of construction and arrangement which will appear more clearly hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which, three embodiments are illustrated.

In the drawings: a

Fig. 1 shows a vertical longitudinal section through the open end of the yoke embodying my invention, a portion of the coupler shank and butt being shown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the supporting and locking block.

The form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of a yoke having upper and lower arms 50 and 51, respectively, which are united at their forward ends by integral side walls 52, thus forming aihooded inclosure adapted to receive the coupler 53 having a butt 53 The ribs 5 4 formed on the inner side of the forward endof theupper wall are adapted to space the coupler butt 53? downwardly from the upper walllof adapted to coact directly with the upper shoulder 56 of the coupler butt.

The lower wall 51 is provided at its forward end with a transverse flange or shoulder 57 which extends between the side walls 52 and which terminates at its ends in the upturned lugs or flanges 58 formed integrally with the side walls. The flange 57 and the lugs 58 are adapted to coact directly with a removable block 60 of rectangular cross-section which rests directly on the lower wall of the yoke and supports the coupler by direct engagement with the shank thereof.

The block 60 is provided 011 the rear side thereof and midway between its ends with a longitudinally extending projection or tail 61 which has comparatively small dimensions vertically and laterally and which extends rearwardly to the rear end of the coupler butt, being spaced downwardly therefrom. The rear end of the coupler butt co acts with the follower 62 of the draft gear, which may be of any suitable form and is therefore not herein described. If the block 60 slides rearwardly on the lower wall of the yoke upon rearward movement of the coupler, it is automatically returned to its forward position against the flange 57 by the engagement of the follower 62 with the tongue 61 when the coupler butt returns to its forward position, and the member 61 thus operates in conjunction with the'draft gear to retain the block 60 in its proper position to coact with the lower shoulder of the coupler butt.

In the invention as shown and described, a removable block is insertable into the hooded end of the yoke from the rear thereof and is adapted to seat against a shoulder on the lower arm of the yoke to engage the lower shoulder of the coupler butt and to support the coupler by engagement with the shank.

thereof forwardly of the coupler butt, the block serving also to space the coupler butt upwardly from the lower wall of the yoke so r the yoke and the transverse shoulder J55 I formed integrally with the upper wall is that the longitudinal axis of the coupler is coinciflentwith the longitudinal axis of the y ke v I l 1 'Although I have shown and described certain embodiments of the invention {or pur j poses of illustration, itwill be understood that the invention may be embodied in Va rious other forms without departing-from:

the appended claim. I claim:

In combination with a coupler havin 1 bottom shank and a buttr'earwa dly thereof, a yoke having arms and side walls at thefront thereof uniting said arms, a

pegged end 'epeaiagib permit the insert-ion of aid "coupler butt, said arms each having i -mi ed e s b 'fle s a e om mean's'oai'riedby one of said arms rearwardly of said flange to contact and space said coupler butt from said arm, said hooded end being provided with inwardly projecting lugs, a removable block supporting the shank of said coupler andlocated between the butt of said; coupler and the flange of the other of said arms, said block l1av'1nga non-supporting portion located .beneath said coupler butt, and a follower adjacent the end of said coupler butt, said ROY J. COOK. 

